(NaturalNews) The Food and Drug Administration's massive regulations covering tobacco and smoking should have been enough to satisfy the agency, but no – when Americans began turning to what many believe is a safer alternative, e-cigarettes, the little Stalins at the agency just couldn't leave well enough alone.

In a recently released statement, the FDA claims it is acting on behalf of Americans' public health safety, noting:
 

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized a rule extending its authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco, among others. This historic rule helps implement the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 and allows the FDA to improve public health and protect future generations from the dangers of tobacco use through a variety of steps, including restricting the sale of these tobacco products to minors nationwide.

[As an aside, this is what makes Congress' complaints about federal agency overreach so empty and hypocritical – as the FDA states, the agency was free to develop and implement this rule after being given the authority to do so in the 2009 law, rather than Congress setting the rules and parameters for e-cig use. But I digress.]

If you weren't aware that there was an "epidemic" of e-cigarette and pipe tobacco sales to minors, don't worry – you're not alone. Only the FDA seems to think so.
 

Nanny State to the rescue

"We have more to do to help protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, especially our youth. As cigarette smoking among those under 18 has fallen, the use of other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, has taken a drastic leap. All of this is creating a new generation of Americans who are at risk of addiction," said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell. "Today's announcement is an important step in the fight for a tobacco-free generation – it will help us catch up with changes in the marketplace, put into place rules that protect our kids and give adults information they need to make informed decisions."